Coming Soon: Bike Connections for the Heights, Timbergrove, and Beyond

As of now, the Heights Hike and Bike trail "ends" at the Shepherd-Durham overpasses right next to Lawrence Park. We put the above in scare quotes because some hardy riders use the existing dirt path anyway, even going to far as to traverse the terrifying burned-out railway bridge that spans White Oak Bayou and ends on the edge of the Eureka Railyard.

The Pont Neuf It Ain't

A few months ago, some mysterious bike fairy came along with a load of lumber and nailed some boards atop the charred ties on the bridge, makin the trip across to Cottage Grove and Memorial Park feel ten times safer. Still and all, it's a cheap thrill but it's best to dismount your bike—lots of times stray nails protrude from the makeshift bridgework.

At any rate, the blackened bridge is slated for demolition or drastic refurbishment, and per the Chron, this fall workers will begin paving a 1.3 mile of path from Lawrence Park to the White Oak path's trailhead near the TC Jesters and West 11th Street. There riders can pick up a pre-existing trail that heads all the way up to the fringes of Acres Homes.

That trail currently ends at Victory Lane, but projects years down the line are in place to cut a trail clear up to Hollister. Yep. Hollister. Champions. Beltway 8. Cypress, practically.

Sigh. Our feelings on this are mixed. The eastern foot of that bridge has been a meditation zone / power spot of mine for the last few years, my own trash-strewn bayou-pungent pre- and post-work Eden. No more—soon it will teem with with yoga dads and crossfit maniacs and their occasionally ill-behaved pooches. As they say in Opelousas, c'est la vie en grand Houston. At any rate, expect to see more pics like the one below from your cyclist friends in the years to come.